The Top 20 Steve Albini-Recorded Albums

19. The Ex - Turn (2004)

19. The Ex - 'Turn' (2004). This long-running Dutch postpunk institution was always fearlessly ambitious, but they really went for it with this one: A double-CD flush with African jazz rhythms and up-with-artists rhetoric. Albini kept their sound severe, but he also gave them a chance to loosen up a bit. And the band's version of the Eritrean revolutionary song "Huriyet" is as joyous as they ever got.

Infamously cantankerous studio rat/national treasure Steve Albini doesn’t like to be called a record producer. He prefers the term “recording engineer.” That’s a dry, clinical term for what Albini actually does, but it makes sense that he’d prefer to be seen that way. Over the past few decades, Albini has overseen the creation of countless numbers of recorded artifacts. And even though he’s been an outspoken opponent of the major-label system (and of other underground-rock heroes), he’s known to work with just about anyone who requests his services, whether it’s a major-label juggernaut like ’90s radio-grunge rulers Bush or the grimiest indie band you never heard of.

This week, Cloud Nothings released the visceral, scraping, full-blooded, Albini-recorded Attack On Memory, a truly great LP and a welcome reminder of the sort of visceral shit that was so common on the ’90s rock underground. That album recalled any number of past Albini-recorded efforts. And so does Ugly, the forthcoming Screaming Females album, which Albini also recorded and which also kicks all kinds of ass. Given that Albini is having a banner year so far, we thought it’d be fun to honor some of the other records that Albini recorded. Click through the gallery for our picks and rationale. And in the comments section, tell us that we were idiots for neglecting Silkworm or Urge Overkill or Pussy Galore.

Rapeman’s “Two Nuns And a Pack Mule” is better than any Shellac album, and I’d take A Minor Forest’s “Flemish Altruism (Constituent Parts 1993-1996)” or Slint’s “Tweez” over The Wedding Present or that Mogwai album or Palace Music or PJH any day. Not bad though.

No on Rapeman being better than any Shellac album. Have you heard At Action Park? “Crow” is Steve Albini’s best song behind “Kerosene,” and “Jordan, Minnesota.”

Even though Rapeman had personnel that later joined the Jesus Lizard, who I like better than Shellac, “At Action Park” features the best rhythm section around, equally hypnotizing and brutal. Hell, 1000 Hurts is better than Two Nuns, just listen to “Watch Song.”

I’d actually go for the far superior (in material imho) Songs:Ohia – Magnolia Electric Co., the last Songs:Ohia before the name shift, the production is stellar, and quite a departure from the kind of band Albini was producting at the time.

Brainiac’s Hissing Prigs in Static Couture was partially produced by Steve Albini.
McLusky Do Dallas should be in there.
Slint
Two Nuns and a Pack Mule
Pussy Galore – Dial M for Motherfucker (I hope someone here has that album)

Oh and you forgot Bush, Chevelle, and that Cheap Trick reunion album. How could you?

Whoops, it was #1, as it should be. Surfer Rosa is slightly uneven when compared to In Utero. Everyone has personal favorites from Surfer Rosa, so I’m sure to offend some here, but Gigantic isn’t that great and Tony’s Theme is “meh” in my opinion. Now I’m going to hide in a corner.

Maybe not the biggest name on the list of Albini-recorded albums, but The Forms have always been one of the most underappreciated bands in my opinion. Even Steve said so once, which is big of him to say typically he doesn’t get too involved with who he’s recording from what I’ve read with Cloud Nothings and Screaming Females’ experiences.

Most Viewed

As his band traveled through a lightning storm somewhere in the American Midwest, Ariel "Pink" Rosenberg yelled at me over the telephone. It was April 2005, and I was holed up in the spare bedroom of a rented house in York, PA, repeatedly posing pre-prepared interview questions in order to be heard over the noise… More »

Jay Z bought the Swedish company Aspiro's streaming music service Tidal less than a month ago, but that didn't stop him from rolling out his rebranded product today with lots of fanfare from his famous friends. Rumors before the 5PM livestream suggested that Jay's newfangled Tidal would be launched with exclusive… More »

Jay Z is not playing with his big rollout of the streaming service Tidal. After many big stars tweeted their support last night, those same stars have shown up in a new 30-second spot for the service's big relaunch today. In the ad, we see a collection of luminaries -- Jay, Kanye West,… More »

Jay Z wants you to know that Tidal, the Scandinavian high-fidelity streaming service that he bought earlier this month, is a big deal. So he didn't just get some of music's biggest stars to tweet about the service's big relaunch, which is happening today. He got them all to change their social media… More »

Burger Records held their fourth annual Burgerama festival at the Observatory in Santa Ana this past weekend. The two-day fest featured appearances from bands like Together PANGEA, Fidlar, La Luz, Gang Of Four, Public Access T.V. and many, many more. Ty Segall and Weezer were the headliners, and Rivers Cuomo's dad Frank Cuomo made… More »